


Nepeta Climbs A Tree

by Classpectanon



Series: Three Hundred And Sixty Five Ficlets About Homestuck [31]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, Slice of Life, Tree Climbing, Trees
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 13:54:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29119299
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Classpectanon/pseuds/Classpectanon
Summary: Nepeta stared at it like an old friend, or a mortal enemy - the tree in her backyard, taunting her since birth. As far as she could remember, this large tree, with its perfect, climbable branches, its particularly thick, grippable bark, its looming curls and ample shade, always daring the active girl to climb, ever higher, until she could some day reach the top of it.Whenever she tried in the past, it was always a hair short for her. Just quite not able to jump. Just quite not strong enough to haul herself up on one of the larger branches. Dinnertime, honey, we're making steak (her favorite), and it was by the wayside for homework or sleep or fanfiction or whatever, until she remembered again that she had to climb it in a couple of weeks from then.Not today!END OF MONTH 1 31/365
Relationships: Nepeta Leijon & Trees
Series: Three Hundred And Sixty Five Ficlets About Homestuck [31]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2085684
Kudos: 12





	Nepeta Climbs A Tree

Nepeta stared at it like an old friend, or a mortal enemy - the tree in her backyard, taunting her since birth. As far as she could remember, this large tree, with its perfect, climbable branches, its particularly thick, grippable bark, its looming curls and ample shade, always daring the active girl to climb, ever higher, until she could some day reach the top of it.

Whenever she tried in the past, it was always a hair short for her. Just quite not able to jump. Just quite not strong enough to haul herself up on one of the larger branches. Dinnertime, honey, we're making steak (her favorite), and it was by the wayside for homework or sleep or fanfiction or whatever, until she remembered again that she had to climb it in a couple of weeks from then.

Not today!

Today, Nepeta was prepared. She did soccer, she was fit and healthy and spry even for someone as diminutive as her. She had elbowpads and shinguards and all her soccer stuff on, and yes it weighed her down, but it was the only way her mom was going to let her climb up there unsupervised right now, and gosh darn it, Nepeta was going to climb that tree! There was no steak being cooked (or prepared tartare, the objectively correct way to enjoy beef), and, most importantly of all, it was summer vacation, nothing to distract her except the occasional daydreams of crushes.

Nepeta was going to climb this da*n tree!

Her first attempt was admirable. For you see, this was one of those trees where the branches weren't exactly low hanging - they were a couple of feet into the air, above everyone's heads, even the tallest of her friends, Equius. And yes, she tried getting him to throw her up there, but after a mishapped first launch her mother forbade it from being attempted again. No, the only way she'd be able to get up this tree was with WILLPOWER, GRIT, GUTS, and VERY GRIPPY GLOVES, and also maybe A LOT OF CHILDLIKE ENERGY.

She _sprinted_ at that tree, planting her feet in the ground, getting a good jump in, trying not to bonk her head again. That was what the helmet over top the beanie was for, the head bonking. She planted her feet into the sides of the tree, jamming her soles in - she knew better than to use her cleats. Grippy as they were, they would also hurt the tree, and she wasn't really vibing with that.

Then, she slipped and fell backwards, getting a good full body bonk against the ground on the way down. She let out a puff of slightly agonized air, but was thankfully low enough that she could steady her fall and roll backwards into it. Looks like that gymnastics training wasn't a bad idea after all, was it, Nep? And you gave your mom such a hard time over it.

Nepeta furrowed her brow, cracked her knuckles, cracked her wrists, cracked her elbows, stretched and then also cracked her knees, and then gently pulled her head left and right to crack her neck. Alright. It's show time.

Back into a sprint, into the jump, don't hit your head! Shoes in the side of tree, and then fingers in the bark, squeeze yourself to it, there we go! Push yourself up like a spring, grabbing bark from the top, curling your legs up, uncurling, keep the bear hug going - there's the limb, grab, pull, haul, you've got this!

With a loud, triumphant roar of effort, Nepeta finally hauled herself up onto the lowest, thickest branch on the tree, immediately reaching out with her right foot to plant against another nearby branch, making a little triangle of safety. Panting, dazed, a little sweaty, she leaned back and enjoyed the feeling of wind on her face, improved greatly by the feeling of sweet, sweet victory. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled her phone out.

"Hey, Mom, can you get the ladder please?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. All views, kudos, comments, and bookmarks are appreciated.  
> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/classpectanon)


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